Many pickups are equipped with pivotable endgates that close off the end of the pickup bed and are removable from the vehicle body simply by lifting one side of the endgate from a pivot connection and sliding the endgate transversely with respect to the vehicle to release the other side of the endgate from the pivot connection.
Removal of the endgate may be desired in order to access the bed without leaning over the endgate, to attach loading ramps directly to the floor of the bed, or for other purposes for which flexibility of the bed and access to the bed is beneficial. Reattaching the endgate then requires only lowering the endgate to the pivot connection and sliding it transversely into place.
On some pickups, cables are provided to support the endgate when it is in an open position. The cables may have spring clips on the end that clip to a hook on the vehicle sidewall. Thus, the cables are unclipped from the hooks to release the cables from the sidewall, prior to lifting the endgate to remove the endgate from the vehicle. When the endgate is reattached, the cables are clipped to the hooks again.
Other pickups include both cables and dampers supporting the endgate and having ends adapted to fit over a sleeve on the sidewall and retained to the sleeve via a nut and bolt. Heretofore, such damped endgate assemblies have not provided the quick and easy detachment and reattachment that some pickup owners have come to expect. For example, known damped endgate assemblies cannot be removed from the vehicle without using tools to remove the nut and bolt so that the cable and damper ends can be released from the sleeve, and, similarly, cannot be reattached to the vehicle without tightening the nut and bolt with these same tools. The loose nut and bolt may be easily lost in the interim.